MONITORING APPLICATION FOR AUTOMATICALLY REQUESTING CONTENT

• US 20120042276A1
• Filed: 09/06/2011
• Published: 02/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Hoshiko LLC (Raoul Management LLC)
• Inventors: Shuster, Gary
• Granted Patent: US 8,667,130 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/781
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0264 based upon schedule
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Embodiments of the instant invention are directed to a system, apparatus and method for monitoring a user'"'"'s activities and displaying and presenting unsolicited content to users over a wide area network. Embodiments of the instant invention include a monitoring system comprising an activity monitor and a content transfer and display means, wherein the activity monitor comprises an event identifier and a timer. The monitoring system monitors user activities, identifies trigger events, measures the elapsed time of inactivity of the user and initiates the presentation of unsolicited data, or content, to the user computer. In general, the monitoring system identifies trigger events and measures the elapsed time between trigger events. If the elapsed time between the trigger events exceeds a predefined time period the monitoring system causes unsolicited data to be presented on the user computer.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. A computing system comprising:

one or more processors configured to execute software code in order cause the computing system to;

detect occurrence of a defined trigger event associated with display of a first data on an electronic display of the computing system; and

initiate a request for a second data in response to determining that an amount of time from the occurrence of the defined trigger event exceeds a defined threshold;

wherein the second data is configured for display at least partially on top of the first data on the electronic display of the computing system.

3. The computing system of claim 2, wherein the software code is configured to automatically execute in response to receipt of the first data.

4. The computing system of claim 2, wherein the computing system is further configured to receive the first data and the software code together as components of a web page.

5. The computing system of claim 2, wherein the software code is configured to cause the computing system to display the first data in a first user interface and to display the second data in a second user interface.

6. The computing system of claim 5, wherein the software code is further configured to cause the computing system to at least initially display the second user interface as an active window on the electronic display of the computing system.

7. The computing system of claim 6, wherein the software code is further configured to cause the computing system to continue displaying the second user interface as the active window until receiving input from an input device of the computing system indicating that another user interface is to be activated as the active window.

8. The computing system of claim 6, wherein the software code is further configured to cause the computing system to hide the second user interface behind a third user interface displayed on the electronic display of the computing system until receiving local input indicating that the first user interface is to be the active window.

9. The computing system of claim 6, wherein the software code is further configured to cause the computing system to make a prior displayed user interface the active window in response to receiving a defined user input via the second user interface.

10. A computing system comprising:

one or more hardware processors configured to execute instructions in order to;

initiate transmission to a client computing device of;

a first data configured for rendering by the client computing device in order to display a first user interface of the client computing device; and

executable code configured to detect occurrence of a defined trigger event associated with the first user interface and to initiate a request for a second data from the client computing device in response to an amount of time from the occurrence of the defined trigger event exceeding a defined threshold;

receive the request for the second data from the client computing device; and

initiate transmission of the second data to the client computing device in response to receiving the request for the second data, wherein the second data is configured for rendering by the client computing device in order to display a second user interface at least partially on top of the first user interface.

11. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the executable code transmitted by the computing system is further configured to at least initially display the second user interface including the second data as an active window on the client computing device.

12. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the executable code transmitted by the computing system is further configured to continue displaying the second user interface as the active window until receiving local input to return to the first user interface.

13. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the executable code transmitted by the computing system is further configured to hide the second user interface behind a third user interface until receiving local input to make the first user interface active.

14. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the executable code transmitted by the computing system is further configured to make active a prior viewed user interface in response to a defined user input via the second user interface.

15. The computing system of claim 14, wherein the executable code transmitted by the computing system is further configured for transmitting the second data including an interactive object for facilitating entry of the defined user input via the second user interface.

16. A tangible computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

sending a first data usable to render a first user interface together with a monitoring application to a client computing device, wherein the monitoring application is configured to generate a request for a second data in response to determining that a defined trigger event associated with the first user interface has not occurred for at least a predetermined time period; and

sending the second data to the client computing device in response to receiving the request for the second data, wherein the second data is usable to render a second user interface for placement at least partially on top of the first user interface until the monitoring application detects input on the client computing device indicating that the first user interface should be redisplayed.

17. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the monitoring application is further configured to terminate in response to closing of the first user interface on the client computing device.

18. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the monitoring application is further configured to replace at least a portion of the first data in the first user interface with the second data.

19. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the monitoring application is further configured to display the second user interface as hidden behind a third user interface on the client computing device until receiving local input to move the first user interface on top of the third user interface.

20. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the monitoring application is further configured to display the first user interface in response to a defined user input to the second user interface.

21. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting the second data including an interactive object for receiving the defined user input to the second user interface.